10 30. That, additionally, the State explained that legislative and other initiatives have been set in motion in the City of Buenos Aires, including: 1) the 2004 amendment to the City Code of Misdemeanors –created by virtue of Law No. 10 of 1998 and amended by Law No. 1472 of 2004-, Section 11 of which establishes “the ‘non-punishable’ status of teenagers under the age of 18 for the commission of city misdemeanors” other than traffic violations; 2) Law 12 on “Misdemeanor Procedures,” establishing “a specific procedure for children and teenagers charged with a misdemeanor”; 3) Law No. 1287, which creates a specific procedure to be applied when a teenager is arrested for possessing, carrying and supplying civilian weapons without being a licensed user; 4) Law No. 23950, which sets at 10 hours the period during which a person may be held in detention by the Police Forces in the City of Buenos Aires on the presumption that such person has committed or may commit a crime or misdemeanor where such person has failed to sufficiently prove their identity, and 5) Resolution 1623, of October 29, 2004, whereby the Ministry of Security of the Province of Buenos Aires prohibited the holding of minors at police premises and forced the judges in charge of them to have the police precincts relocate such minors to adequate facilities. 31. That, in this regard, the representatives stated that “[e]ven though […] it is their view that debating on and adjusting the Argentine legislation as regards the international standards for the comprehensive protection of children and teenagers and as regards the criminal procedure applicable to minors is very important, they consider that little does such issue have to do with the subjects in question in the case of Walter Bulacio. This is so because Walter [Bulacio] was not accused of any crime at all.” “In this regard, [according to the representatives,] what the State is required to do is create a mechanism to analyze and amend the legislation that is currently in force and the practices that allow arbitrary detentions (such as detentions to verify identity, police edicts or razzias), which are particularly serious when they involve children who have not committed any crime at all and are performed without a warrant, as was the case with Walter Bulacio, and which leave room for detention in inadequate conditions.” According to the representatives, “the underlying issue in this case [is] the complex system of authority vested in the police and other security forces by the State to make arbitrary arrests without a court warrant in cases other than cases of flagrante delicto.” Thus, “it is necessary for the State to seriously commit to modifying and correcting the practices related to the authority for detention – either to verify a person’s criminal records or to verify the identity of a person–, which practices are deeply rooted in the police and other security forces.” Moreover, the representatives noted that “the State’s commitment […] is not limited to amending the legislation in the Province of Buenos Aires –which is just one of the 23 provinces that make up the State of Argentina- but extends to the entire national territory as well.” Lastly, they noted that, so far, no meetings have been held between them and the State’s agents after the private hearing of August 2008 to exchange information or make suggestions on the subject. 32. That the Commission “acknowledge[d] the legislative progress made by the State of Argentina in connection with the protection of children and teenagers. It also acknowledge[d] the importance of implementing an adequate procedural system to assess offenses committed by minors, as well as to apply measures intended to reeducate the offending minors. However, […] it note[d] that the […] subjects […] that are critical in order to keep violations similar to those sustained by Walter Bulacio from recurring in the future [are]: [1)] the State must adopt the factual and legal measures required to guarantee that the facilities at which minors are held in detention are adequate and are properly monitored on a permanent basis; and [2)] the State must take all such measures as may be necessary to guarantee that detained minors are brought without delay before a judicial authority for a ruling on the legality of their detention.” Furthermore, the Commission stated that, “so far,